


Two Bound By Blood

by rubylily



Category: Shinigami Alice
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-06-29 22:34:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15738681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubylily/pseuds/rubylily
Summary: Masaki wants to share Hinageshi's burden.





	Two Bound By Blood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



The scent of blood was overwhelming, almost suffocating, but Masaki had long since accepted she would never be used to it. The scent of blood always lingered about Hinageshi, and Masaki swore to accept everything about her, the good and bad, and never would Masaki fail to protect her.

Even if Masaki had to dirty her own hands.

She had lost count of how many times she had stabbed the Puppet. Far away from the city, she and Hinageshi had finally found an abandoned house to stay a while in, but then yet another Puppet had suddenly appeared, and Hinageshi had struck first, but this Puppet was stronger than the others, and when Masaki saw Hinageshi bleed, she had taken her own knife - just a simple kitchen knife, not made to harm - and stabbed the distracted Puppet.

The Puppet fell, and Masaki kept stabbing, over and over, and her arms grew exhausted as the weak blade kept striking bone, and eventually the Puppet grew still. But Masaki didn't stop. Her hands were covered in red and blood stained her clothes, but she didn't stop. She had to protect Hinageshi. They were both outsiders, cast into the dark corners of the world, and Masaki couldn't let Hinageshi carry that burden alone.

"Masaki, stop."

Masaki froze and looked up, and through her tear-soaked eyes she saw Hinageshi standing before her, and Hinageshi's arm still bled. Masaki tried to speak, but her voice failed her.

"We need to dispose of the body," Hinageshi said calmly. "There's a river nearby."

"But you're hurt…"

"First, the body, and then we'll go back."

Masaki nodded numbly, and despite her trembling legs she managed to help Hinageshi drag the Puppet's corpse to the river and dump it into the water. The grass and dirt were stained with blood, but Hinageshi said that couldn't be helped, and this place was remote enough that the police wouldn't come searching right away.

Once the body was disposed of, Masaki quickly dressed Hinageshi's wound with makeshift bandages - it wasn't the best, but it would halt the bleeding until they got real bandages - and they stayed close together as they walked back to that abandoned house, keeping to the shadows.

"It's been a while, huh?" Masaki found herself saying. "Since one of them found us…"

"The Puppeteers never give up," Hinageshi said bluntly, and her fingers tightened around Masaki's. "We won't be able to stay here."

Masaki fell silent, and the scent of blood grew stronger.

Soon they reached the abandoned house they had found some days ago. It was really too small to be called a "house," but it was secluded and away from any busy roads, and the foliage was overgrown enough to assure Masaki that no one had lived here for years. Despite the lack of running water and electricity, Masaki had hoped to stay here a little longer, to share a few restful days with Hinageshi.

Once they were inside, they retrieved the first aid kit they had stolen from a nearby pharmacy, and Masaki carefully cleaned and dressed Hinageshi's wounded arm. She was getting better at treating injuries, but fortunately Hinageshi was rarely hurt. Encounters with Puppets had grown scarcer, but Masaki knew they could never let down their guard.

If she lost Hinageshi…

When Hinageshi's arm was properly bandaged, they tried to clean the blood, but that was rather difficult to do with only stolen bottled water, and Masaki decided to just stuff her ruined bloodied clothes into a plastic bag to safely dispose of later, but even as she changed into a spare set of clean clothes, the scent of blood lingered.

Silence soon fell over the two of them, and as Hinageshi prepared instant ramen over a small fire, Masaki tried to clean her knife. The blade had chipped and warped, and she couldn't get the handle clean, no matter how hard she scrubbed. All she had was this knife, and she had managed to kill that Puppet. She had killed. That Puppet was dead. She had killed to protect Hinageshi, just as Hinageshi now killed to protect her…

Nearly overcome by an urge to vomit, she dropped her knife and buried her face in her shaking hands, and her eyes hurt.

"Masaki?" Hinageshi said, and her voice quivered just slightly as she knelt beside Masaki.

"I… I killed…" Masaki sobbed, and she could still smell blood on her hands. "I killed that Puppet… But it still hurts…"

"I'm sorry." Hinageshi's voice was gentle. "I was careless, and you had to dirty your hands."

"No!" Masaki cried as she seized Hinageshi's arms. "Don't start blaming yourself again! I chose to be part of your world! I promised to protect you too, to share your burden! It's just… I can still smell the blood, and… feel that Puppet's life ending…"

Hinageshi cupped Masaki's face, forcing Masaki to meet her gaze. Her eyes were oddly calm, but now they also carried a sincerity Masaki was determined to protect. "It always hurts to take a life. I understand that now. As long you remember that, you won't lose yourself to darkness like I did."

Despite herself, Masaki couldn't help but smile, and tears still fell from her eyes. "I don't regret this. I chose you, Hinageshi, because I love you."

"Thank you for saving me." A faint smile tugged at Hinageshi's lips, and she kissed Masaki. They held the kiss a while, and the warmth of Hinageshi's lips was more than Masaki could ever have dreamed of.

They ate their ramen carefully - it wasn't very good, but it had been the only brand they could find, and Hinageshi had done her best to prepare it - and once they finished, they gathered what reminded of their supplies. Night had already fallen, but since one Puppet had found them here, they knew they couldn't remain here for much longer, and the darkness of night would provide them some cover as they searched for a safe place to sleep once more.

As they left the abandoned house, Masaki took Hinageshi's hand into hers, and Hinageshi gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. Maybe someday they would find peace together, and maybe then Masaki would be able to properly apologize to her aunt, but as long as it was for Hinageshi's sake, she would endure any darkness.


End file.
